Research comes out every day with conflicting information on how to train, eat, and rest. Should you give up alcohol? Red meat? Or (God forbid) caffeine? Sleep more or less? To find answers, we put seven Outside editors through a range of 30-day self-denial sufferfests that yielded surprising answers about what you need for total health. Let their pain be your guide.
SCRUBBED
Hypothesis: A cleanse will rid your body of toxins and boost your mood and energy
Time Commitment: 28 Days
Researcher: Christopher Keyes
One morning last January, I arrived at our weekly editorial meeting to discover that three colleagues had been seduced by a nutritional cult. "Have you tried the green smoothie?" I heard one of them exclaim. "It's amazing!" They were all following a 21-day cleanse outlined by New York cardiologist Alejandro Junger in his bestselling book Clean. Their enthusiasm, combined with the few aspects of the program I gleaned from their constant hallway banter—Gwyneth Paltrow endorsement, liquid meals—triggered my knee-jerk disdain for fad diets and New Year's resolutions. I started to refer to them as the Clean People.
Then one day, I asked the cult leader a few questions. She was three weeks in and had an undeniable glow. "I feel like I have the energy of a high schooler," she said. Damn. At 36, I'm a healthy guy who works out six days a week and eats plenty of veggies. But with two kids, a stressful job, and a chronic dependence on dessert and an evening glass of wine, I wake up every morning with a mild lower-back ache and can't even carry on a conversation with my two-year-old before I've had two cups of coffee. High school sounded a lot better. I purchased a copy of Clean.
As it turns out, my initial skepticism about cleanses wasn't completely off-base. For as long as they've been popular, cleanses have been derided by much of the medical establishment. Nutritionists warn that many are too low in calories to be considered a healthy lifestyle choice; some are even dangerous. Junger's program, however, is a lot saner. In the first few chapters of Clean, he unveils his thesis: We are a nation of bad eaters living in a chemical wonderland, and our bodies are inundated with toxins—pesticides, processed foods, medications, household cleaners, you name it. What's more, our microwaveable Western diet and workaholic lifestyles have compromised our bodies' natural detox systems. We eat foods that are hard to digest (wheat, nightshade vegetables, and dairy, among others) or that exhaust our intestinal flora, immune system, and adrenal glands (sugar, caffeine, and alcohol).
As a result, concludes Junger, most Americans are carrying toxins around like excess baggage, leading to inflammation—believed to be one of the leading causes of heart disease and cancer—and many other side effects, such as bad skin, low energy, thyroid problems, and depression. "Imagine you buy two plants and put them on the same windowsill," says Junger. "One of them you feed only water. The other you give coffee one day, maybe a little vodka the next—whatever you feel like. You know what will happen?"
Junger is a skilled evangelist. By the time he's made his case, even someone who thinks of himself as nominally healthy is ready to come to Jesus. Then he drops the hammer: for three weeks, he wants you to eliminate a host of foods from your diet and consume a liquid meal for breakfast and dinner (smoothies, juices, or soups; he provides all the recipes). Then, every night, allow 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, giving your body time to completely digest your food and begin the long-neglected business of shedding toxins. The sane part I alluded to? You can have a Junger-approved list of solid foods for lunch—including organic chicken, fish, and lamb—and regular snacks during the day (raw cashews, blueberries). It sounded easy.
In theory. A few days before I started, my wife read aloud from the "no" column. "No cheese, no wheat, no refined sugar, no coffee, no alcohol," she said, pausing to look at me after the last two. (She'd just had a baby, and was in no mood for continued deprivation.) She kept reading, but I tuned out, wondering instead where I'd stash some emergency bourbon and chocolate.
Week 1: Time to Eliminate
METRICS (each week I measured my five-foot-seven frame using a Tanita body-composition scale): 146 lbs, 15.1% body fat, 1625 basal metabolic rate, 22 metabolic age
THE PLAN: This is the optional pre-cleanse week. I still eat three solid meals, but eliminate foods on Junger's "no" list.
DAY ONE: My abruptly decaffeinated mind is a liability to my staff. I pad down office hallways with my head down and a distinct edge about me. A colleague drops by with an otherwise routine request. I snap at her. "You started the cleanse today, didn't you?" she says cheerily, laughing off my crankiness.
HOME: No sanctuary, either. Forgoing a glass of wine and ice cream after dinner is agony. Hunger gnaws at my stomach. In Clean, Junger explains that much of what we now recognize as hunger is an emotional state, not a physical reality. We eat to fill voids caused by boredom, sadness, or stress. I'd like to strangle Alejandro Junger. But there is a flip side. A few days in, I start to wake up feeling ... awake. My achy lower back, which I'd always attributed to tight hamstrings from too much running, has disappeared. I'd like to hug Alejandro Junger.
Week 2: The Real Work Begins
METRICS: 141 lbs, 14.8% body fat, 1575 BMR, 21 metabolic age
THE PLAN: Liquid breakfasts and dinners, solid foods only at lunch and snack time.
DAY ONE: For the first time in 30 years, instead of pouring equal parts sugar-glazed raisin bran and milk into a giant bowl, I pour a blenderful of blueberries, almond milk, cacao, and agave syrup into a glass. I down it. I'm still hungry, but ride it out. After a post-breakfast run, I feel satisfied—and infinitely sharper. The same feeling emerges after my first liquid dinner. It's still hard to watch my wife sip a glass of wine or eat a giant oatmeal cookie, but my old food cravings begin to subside and are replaced with surprising new ones.
MIDWEEK: My wife and I go out to dinner at a restaurant that specializes in salads. (I wasn't cheating; in recognition of the turbulence of real life, Junger allows you to occasionally stray from a liquid dinner if you replace it the same day with a liquid lunch.) I used to hate this place. Last time, I destroyed any semblance of a healthy salad under a bacon dressing and a fatty skirt steak. This time, when the waitress brings my seared tuna over salad greens, it looks like the most delicious food I've ever seen. I ask them to hold the red peppers and corn (two no's on Junger's list). Who am I?
FULL DISCLOSURE: I fall off the wagon on day 13, when a friend and I take our daughters camping. I diligently bring along a Clean-prescribed smoothie for dinner, but then said friend shoots me a what-the-hell-is-that look and cracks open a beer. By the end of the night, I've had three. I later call Junger to find out what kind of damage I've done. "Well," he says, sounding a little disappointed, "when you're cleaning your house, you don't stop to throw a bunch of lard around. But if it was only one night, it's no big deal."
Week 3: Getting Juiced
METRICS: 138 lbs, 14.3% body fat, 1525 BMR, 18 metabolic age
THE PLAN: Same as last week, but now I'm mixing in some Clean boosters: an omega-3 and a probiotic with breakfast, five minutes of meditation each night, and two tablespoons of olive oil before bed to help move food through my intestines.
TUESDAY MORNING: I'm admiring my new physique in the mirror. My wife walks in. "You look like a 12-year-old," she says. She's just being honest. Seventeen days in, my neck is scrawny-looking (and my metabolic age has dropped to 18). I've lost eight pounds. I start doing more push-ups. My days now seem Paleolithic, entirely consumed with gathering, cooking, and taking in calories. I take a trip to the office kitchen every morning, and instead of coffee, I fill up my Brita filter and drop a lemon in my water bottle. I savor my 10 A.M. snack of organic raw cashews. My solid-food lunches—lamb chops, organic chicken, grilled halibut, balsamic reductions—are the highlight. At dinner, instead of a smoothie, I opt for Junger's juice recipes. One night I feed two green apples, two fennel bulbs, and half a lemon into my Space Age juicer. That's it. At bedtime, I'm not hungry. The sudden toxin flushing Junger writes about seems to kick in; several nights I wake up at 4 A.M. and urinate for what seems like 11 straight minutes.
Week 4: Joining the Cult
METRICS: 135 lbs, 13.8% body fat, 1525 BMR, 17 metabolic age
THE PLAN: Same as weeks one and two.
DAY ONE: A month ago, I was a withdrawal-wracked liability to my co-workers. Now I am a liability to my wife. In social situations, I blather on about the cleanse like an infomercial pitchman. I have joined the Clean People. The only difficult thing now is the anxiety I feel about it coming to an end. For 36 years, I've been an active, healthy person who never paid any attention to food. Shifting that focus has changed everything. I have sustained energy throughout the day. I'm less moody. I sleep when I close my eyes and wake up when I open them. A friend—a guy, no less—tells me my skin looks good. One morning, I put my daughter in the car before school but realize I've forgotten her lunch. I sprint up the stairs to the front door, snatch the lunch bag, and sprint back down, three stairs at a time. This is how I used to move—when I was in high school.
Epilogue: Staying Clean
METRICS (one month after completion): 37 lbs, 13.4% body fat, 1525 BMR, 17 metabolic age
DESCRIPTION: Junger advises reintroducing elimination foods one at a time to see how your body reacts and what you want to continue abstaining from. Beyond that, he stresses, how much you want to stick with the principles is an individual choice.
DAY ONE: I fail miserably at the reintroduction. My celebratory finish-line meal is fish tacos and several beers. Next day—burp—I don't feel so hot. Since then, to my great surprise, I've been nearly fanatical about continuing the principles. I still have a smoothie every morning for breakfast. I'm 90 percent gluten-, refined-sugar-, and dairy-free. I don't drink coffee. I regularly eat salad for lunch. Wine is reserved mostly for the weekend. I don't touch my daughter's Halloween candy. I feel better than I have in years. Completing the cleanse redefines the meaning of willpower. It doesn't feel like deprivation anymore. Or, as Junger puts it, "Nothing tastes as good as feeling good feels."
Comments
Gotta love it! As someone on a gluten free diet, this still gives me something to shoot for! http://www.glutenfreeathlete.com
Flag ThisThis is a shameful display of advertising for a book/diet. Common sense should tell us that the the author was not living in a healthy way prior to the book, and in no way did he require a month of a "cleanse". If you do the math as well 146x15.1%=22.046 lbs of fat 123.95 lbs of lean mass at the start 137x13.4%=18.35lbs of fat and 118.65 lbs of lean body mass at the end. Meaning the author lost 4 lbs of fat, 5 lbs of lean body mass, this is a terrible result for a diet.
Flag ThisWow - if you read the epilogue the author dropped to only 37 pounds, from an initial 146...now that's a diet!!
Flag ThisI did the Clean Program last Jan. along with some friends. We didn't do it to lose weight but to get a fresh start and improve energy levels. We just followed the book and got supplements from the grocery store which Junger says is just fine. We had lots of debate, though, about Junger's recommendations re.colonics and infared saunas. There isn't any scientific evidence to support either. Did Mr. Keyes try any of these or other of Junger's supplementary activities? Any notable effects??
Flag ThisI agree with disappointed, how can this be a positive nutrition approach when over 50% of the weight loss is lean body mass? The placebo effect can lead people to "feel" great, but the data here says that this is a muscle harvesting nutrition path.
Flag ThisWhen I first read this I was thinking - I've got to try this! Then, I started thinking about people who are on starvation diets often have the same results that Mr. Keyes had - elevated energy, a sense of euphoria, etc. Your body's natural response puts out feel-good, energizing chemicals as it shuts itself down and makes organ death as painless as possible. I also read that Gwyneth Paltrow, a cleanse fan, is now suffering from osteopenia - a precursor to osteoporosis; diet induced?
Flag ThisAs we are almost 70% water, I strongly believe in liguid diet. This article inspired my husband and me to start our cleasne Jauary 3, 2011. Thank you very much!
Flag Thiswow, Junger's "Nothing tastes as good as feeling good feels" sounds creepily like Kate Moss and her "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." I think I'll just stick with "Nothing tastes as good as a really good cup of coffee" and leave it at that.
Flag ThisHey "disappointed" & "how is this good?" - this is not a diet, it is a cleansing detox program, not sustainable for the long term. If you have a critique of the program (good or bad) after having experienced it (as the author did), then I'd respect your thoughts; otherwise your comments are not worthy and are speculation at best.
Flag ThisYour body would not shut down with this diet. Having a salad with protein and 2 liquid meals a day, and some natural nuts and veggies would not make your organs shut down. You are still getting nutrients. Mario Lopez has a protein shake and a salad everyday with a small snack in between and he looks great. We as americans need to eat less anyways. Only good can come out of this. People who hate are just scared of doing it, so they bash it. Try it, and then bash it!
Flag ThisMy wife and I started this "cleanse" on January 1st. We eliminated caffeine/coffee, soy, wheat gluten, sugars, dairy (except yogurt), corn, and alcohol. We're on day 5 and we both feel good. We eat lots of fruit, make salads, roast veggies and eat lots of wild game - pheasant, elk, antelope. The hardest part is watching playoff football without beer or pizza. The best part is all the money we're saving not purchasing alcohol at our local breweries.
Flag ThisI'm laughing at justfivegrins, 1: why do something that isn't sustainable? as soon as you leave the "diet" you will regain weight and regain "toxins" the cleanse apparently took care of. 2: with your "don't knock it til you try it" logic I suppose an all alcohol diet couldn't be bad either unless you tried it? When you're in the field of health it is our job to make inferences about diets, cleanses, medications with out ever trying them. Do you think your Doc has tried every medication?
Flag Thiswhat's sad about americans is that we all want some sort of quick fix diet, pill, or miracle drug that solves all our problems in a short term. It doesn't work that way, I don't disagree with a lot of the foods he was eating, but they need to be lifelong habit changes. Not month cleanses. There should be no "diets" for the average person it has to be lifelong adjustments. This is exactly the reason we see the VAST MAJORITY of americans yo-yoing and causing more harm then they truly understand.
Flag Thiswhat you'll also notice is that his bmr dropped by the end of the diet, which means that it will be easier for him to regain weight because at a base level he is burning less calories then when he started. The goal should be to maintain or INCREASE bmr to be effective in the long-term. There is so much more to food and nutrition biochemically then just calories in and calories out.
Flag ThisI'm laughing at justfivegrins, 1: why do something that isn't sustainable? as soon as you leave the "diet" you will regain weight and regain "toxins" the cleanse apparently took care of. 2: with your "don't knock it til you try it" logic I suppose an all alcohol diet couldn't be bad either unless you tried it? When you're in the field of health it is our job to make inferences about diets, cleanses, medications with out ever trying them. Do you think your Doc has tried every medication?
Flag ThisI'm well into week 2 of the cleanse. My goal was to NOT lose weight. So far so good. Note to detractors: this is a 3 WEEK cleanse giving your body time to repair a leaky gut w/ lots of support. My GI tract is already better, my insomnia gone, my skin clearer, and my morning caffeine headaches gone. Naysayers are missing the point. Stop w/ the BMR & lean mass metrics! During this cleanse you flush out toxins & return (if you're smart) to a cleaner way of living.
Flag ThisIm on day 19 of 21 for the Clean Diet. I am 25 years old and weighed in at 202 lbs on day 1. Now on Day 19 i am 183 lbs. I have lost 19 pounds. After i finish this friday (day 21) i will have a day to celebrate my victory and eat whatever i want, then it is time to change my eating habits for good. More veggies and fruit, less dairy, less gluten products etc. If i wasnt active, i would def. gain back most of the weight, however i am now training 6 days a week for a half marathon.
Flag ThisI must admit i have cheated on the diet with Natural Peanut Butter made by Skippy. I went 2 weeks without cheating at all, but my hunger has increased with my increased gym sessions and running schedule.A couple of spoonfuls of natural peanut butter a night isnt too bad even though peanuts and peanut butter are on the No list.For breakfast and dinner ive been doing almond milk with a scoop of gluten free brown rice protein and mixed frozen berries.Very good. Salad with chicken or salmon 4 lunch!
Flag ThisIve been taking a multivitamin, probiotics, milk thistle, garlic pills and brown rice protein as supplements. After week 2 my energy level peaked and then decreased. I work a desk job and it's hard to sit there all day and not snack. I've been snacking with raw almonds or cashews. All in all, love the diet and looking foward to making permanent changes in my eating routine. Saturday will consist of Sushi for lunch, Sweedish Meatballs for Dinner, and A 5 scoop reeses pieces sundae for dessert!
Flag ThisI am considering trying this diet but am concerned about losing weight, as that is not my goal. I see that dochp had a similar plan and seemed to be successful. Did you have to modify the diet to not lose weight?
Flag ThisI love this magazine, and I loved this article. I am a skeptic. I don't go for this kind of thing. This article changed my mind. I gave the article to several people at work, and at least one is doing it. I just started this weekend. First three days were a bee-otch! Today was great. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Keyes. You did NOT get an easy assignment.
Flag ThisI am always very suspicious about cleanses that "flush out toxins." That's some real soft terminology, there. We have specific organs and systems to take care of "toxins," and I guess I'm pretty skeptical about how blueberries and fennel relate to those organs and systems.
Flag ThisI have yet to hear anyone who actually DID the clean program diss it. Personally, I had a chronic cough that no one could figure out, up to and including National Jewish Hospital. On the clean program I lost the cough, my sometime vertigo and my old-guy ski knees. Oh yeah, and 14 lbs but that's just a side effect. My cholesterol and blood lipids improved dramatically with no drugs. I feel better, ski better and have more speed and endurance at 61 than I have in decades. At least READ the book before you talk trash people.
Flag ThisI have yet to hear anyone who actually DID the clean program diss it. Personally, I had a chronic cough that no one could figure out, up to and including National Jewish Hospital. On the clean program I lost the cough, my sometime vertigo and my old-guy ski knees. Oh yeah, and 14 lbs but that's just a side effect. My cholesterol and blood lipids improved dramatically with no drugs. I feel better, ski better and have more speed and endurance at 61 than I have in decades. At least READ the book before you talk trash people.
Flag ThisYou may be able to get the same effects just going gluten free, and trying to eliminate bad refined sugars from your diet. My naturopath put me on a gluten free diet, which I thought would be hard at first. After about a month or so my energy levels started increasing, my sinus problems got better and I lost weight. I also had to eliminate, dairy alcohol, and tomatoes and eat a green with every meal as well. I could only eat organic chicken and fish. I fell off the wagon for time and started feeling like crap again. Time to get back to it. Don't think of it as a diet but a change in your lifestyle.
Flag ThisYou may be able to get the same effects just going gluten free, and trying to eliminate bad refined sugars from your diet. My naturopath put me on a gluten free diet, which I thought would be hard at first. After about a month or so my energy levels started increasing, my sinus problems got better and I lost weight. I also had to eliminate, dairy alcohol, and tomatoes and eat a green with every meal as well. I could only eat organic chicken and fish. I fell off the wagon for time and started feeling like crap again. Time to get back to it. Don't think of it as a diet but a change in your lifestyle.
Flag ThisFirst of all, who says it's not sustainable? A lady friend of mine has been on it for a year because the first 3 weeks cured her arthritis and hypertension. Lots of the questions I see here (unwanted weight loss, etc.) are addressed in the book. You may get results by doing a few things, but this is a systematic regimine that also eliminates the inevitable environmental poisions we absorb. Doing this will almost certainly lead to adopting some or most of the dietary guides--I'm still off coffee for example--but for maximum benefit just go all out, it's only 3 weeks for heaven's sake. Even if you don't try the progrm (your loss), buy the book and read it for what you'll learn about how your body works.
Flag ThisFirst of all, who says it's not sustainable? A lady friend of mine has been on it for a year because the first 3 weeks cured her arthritis and hypertension. Lots of the questions I see here (unwanted weight loss, etc.) are addressed in the book. You may get results by doing a few things, but this is a systematic regimine that also eliminates the inevitable environmental poisions we absorb. Doing this will almost certainly lead to adopting some or most of the dietary guides--I'm still off coffee for example--but for maximum benefit just go all out, it's only 3 weeks for heaven's sake. Even if you don't try the progrm (your loss), buy the book and read it for what you'll learn about how your body works.
Flag ThisMy wife and I completed the Clean Program last year and plan on doing it again. It was a game changer for us. It was more about changing our eating habits and being more aware of our bodies. We felt better, slept better, looked better and now have a better appreciation of the food we eat. Don't get me wrong, it is very hard and takes a lot of discipline, but I am a better husband, father and co-worker because of it.
Flag ThisWill this article be in print in February's issue?
Flag ThisWow! I know I need to do a cleanse soon. Coffee and processed foods aren't doing me well. www.AmonMedinger.com
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